OTTAWA – A Quebec senator is in the spotlight over reports that he is in a romantic relationship with one of his employees on Parliament Hill.

Conservative Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, 64, is the latest member of the red chamber to come under scrutiny as part of the ongoing controversy surrounding expense claims.

Montreal-based newspaper La Presse reported this weekend that Boisvenu, claimed more than $20,000 in living expenses for his time spent in the Ottawa area, while claiming his primary residence is in Sherbrooke, Que.

The newspaper reported the Sherbrooke condominium is occupied by his ex-wife, Diane Carlos, with whom he is in the process of negotiating a separation agreement following their split about a year ago.

Meanwhile, the newspaper reported Boisvenu is involved romantically with his aide, Isabelle Lapointe, a former criminal analyst who he hired to be his executive assistant, also in charge of communications, in August 2010.

The relationship appears to go against rules governing the hiring of employees at the Senate of Canada, as far as they were explained to other media, but communications staff refused to state those rules when the Star asked about them Tuesday.